Sidechains and Lightning Networks with Rusty Russell
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
A sidechain is a blockchain you can move bitcoins into and back from, which may have different abilities than the bitcoin blockchain.
The lightning network is a caching layer for bitcoin, which allows instant sending and failover to the normal bitcoin network if something goes wrong.
![]()
Rusty Russell is an Australian free software programmer and advocate, known for his work on the Linux kernel’s networking subsytem and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard.
Questions
- What is a sidechain?
- How do you define a blockchain?
- What is a micropayment channel?
- What is a lightning network?
- How do lightning networks enable micropayments?
- How do lightning networks enable purchase of a cup of coffee?
- How do sidechains affect altcoins?



